Our Lineage & Teachers

More than 2500 years ago, Buddha Shakyamuni first taught the path to enlightenment. During his lifetime, as the reputation of this unique, fully enlightened teacher grew, the Buddha’s message spread throughout large sections of India In the centuries after the Buddha entered parinirvana, his teachings flourished all over India and eventually spread to most countries in Asia, where they brought happiness, well-being and, in many instances, liberation to those who put them into practice.

In Tibet, the teachings of the Buddha were embraced with a zeal and devotion unparalleled throughout history. Within a short time, all the Buddhist traditions of study and practice had been assimilated and were scrupulously preserved down through the ages by generation after generation of Tibetans.

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Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche was born in 1951 as the eldest son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. He has served as the abbot of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery since its inauguration in 1976. Overseeing both the monastery and its affiliate institutions, Rinpoche is responsible for the personal welfare and spiritual education of nearly 500 monks and nuns. Rinpoche is a renowned meditation master and teacher. For over 35 years he has taught audiences in Nepal and around the world. He is the founder and head of a global network of Buddhist centers dedicated to study, practice, and social work.

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Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche

Born in 1953, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche is the 4th reincarnation of the renowned 19th-century Nyingma master, Terchen Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa. For the past 40 years, Rinpoche has resided at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery, where he serves as the Vajra Master. He is a terton, or revealer of Padmasambhava’s hidden treasures, as well as a lay practitioner with a wife and four children. His elder son, Phakchok Rinpoche, is an incarnate high Lama, who directs monasteries and Dharma centers of his own both globally and in Nepal. Chokling Rinpoche’s younger son, Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, is the reincarnation of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

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Phakchok Rinpoche

Born in 1981, Phakchok Rinpoche is the grandson of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the oldest son of Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche. As a small boy, he was recognized as a highly realized tulku of the Taklung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. In 2004, Phakchok Rinpoche completed many years of advanced Buddhist studies and received his khenpo degree from the Dzongsar Shedra in India. Thereafter, whenever his busy schedule allowed, Phakchok Rinpoche taught at Rangjung Yeshe Institute’s international shedra. He now has monasteries and Dharma centres both globally and in Nepal. Rinpoche travels the world to give Buddhist teachings, grant initiations, and oversee his Dharma-related projects.

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Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche

Born in August, 2001, Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche was enthroned at the age of seven in Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in Boudhanath by Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche on Lha Bab Duchen in November, 2008.

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Lama Tsultrim Sangpo

Lama Tsultrim Sangpo is a senior monk at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, and Gomde California’s resident teacher during the summer months. He was born in Nubri close to the border to Tibet and come to the monastery when he was 12 years old, at which point he started his education there. At the age of 29 he started his traditional 3 years retreat at the Asura cave retreat center in Pharping, Nepal. Since completion of his retreat he stays at Ka-Nying Shedrub monastery, teaching and serving as the main singer for rituals during the winter season.